“The sounds of battle and the buzz of wings could scarcely be heard over the roar of the white rapids rushing through the deep canyon below. At the top of one cliff, Daring Do fought to hold her ground against the combined forces of Ahuizotl’s hench-jungle-cats, and Queen Apoidea’s changeling warriors. --”
“Changelings?!” gasped Pinkie Pie. “Wow! One paragraph in and already the suspense is killing me! I hope it lasts...” she finished, sticking a curly false mustache on her face and then rubbing her hooves together evilly.
“Queen Apoidea is a new one...” mused Spike, rubbing his chin, “I wonder if she was based on Queen Chrysalis and her changelings?”
“Does it matter?!” huffed Rainbow. “We’re interrupting Twilight!”
“Uh, yes. Thank you Rainbow,” said Twilight awkwardly. “Now where was I... Oh yes!”
“Having just escaped from yet another trap-filled temple, and then being forced to flee with the treasure through hot desert wasteland, Daring was already beginning to tire from the fight. It also didn’t help that some of the insect-like changelings had transformed their vaguely alicorn-shaped bodies into the forms of Ahuizotl’s jungle cats, while the rest harried her from above with blasts of magic from their horns. But even against these odds, she knew she had to keep going! No matter what, the magical Ruby Heart could not fall into their clutches!
“ ‘We both know you have lost this time, Miss Do,’ an accented voice said smoothly. ‘why not simply hand the relic over and make this easier for all of us? I might even be generous and spare your meddling life.’
“ ‘Not going to happen, Ahuizotl!’ yelled Daring, spotting her old foe overlooking the scene from a luxurious sleigh parked nearby. ‘This belongs in a museum!’
“ ‘So do you, Miss Do!’ the half-dog, half-monkey creature replied. He sipped casually on a fruit drink, stroking his pet white cat and relaxing in the shade of an awning attached to the sleigh. Queen Apoidea lounged next to him, watching the battle with interest as two other changelings attended both of them.Though bigger and more alicorn-like than her subjects, Apoidea was unmistakably a changeling. Her horn was longer and gnarled, her carapace-like shell was green instead of blue, her sheer insect-like wings were larger, and her eyes were cat-like instead of insectoid, but she still shared the black coat, saber-tooth fangs, and strange holes in the lower parts of her legs as the rest of her hive. Like all changelings, she fed on the love of other creatures, and she was getting hungry.
" ‘How much longer is this going to take?’ she asked, glancing at Ahuizotl. ‘You promised me a good meal as well as this show.’
“ ‘All in good time, my dear.’ he answered charmingly, --”
Sudden gagging noises from Rainbow Dash and Spike nearly interrupted Twilight again, but she chose to ignore them, and kept reading.
“-- ‘Soon, Daring Do will be no more, and the Ruby Heart will be ours. When that happens, you and your subjects will have all of the love you desire.’
“ The Queen’s fanged muzzle twisted into a smile, and she licked her lips greedily. ‘Yes...’ she purred, ‘I can almost taste it now... Still, a little snack is in order, I think.’ With that, she stomped a hoof, summoning one of her attendants who brought forth a small, chubby, bear-like creature. It from these bears’ long-lost temple that Daring had retrieved the Ruby Heart, but now the adventurer pegasus could only watch as Apoidea slowly drained the love from the bear that had been her guide and loyal companion over the past few weeks.
“ ‘You’ll pay for that!’ cried Daring, as the bear fell limply to the hard ground, his bright colors completely drained away, and his expression miserable. While not exactly friends, she had grown to admire the plucky creature. He didn’t deserve what had just happened.
“Unfortunately for Daring, she had other problems to deal with. The changelings and jungle cats had managed to get her hat, which held the Ruby Heart, and had now backed her up against the cliff ledge! Try as she might to outmaneuver them, the cats and changelings had boxed her in from both the ground and the sky, and she was too exhausted to even hover at this point. Finally, gathering what strength she had left, Daring made a last, desperate charge at her opponents -- only to be blindsided with a magical blast from Queen Apoidea herself!
“ ‘So sorry, my little pony...’ she said, her voice mockingly sweet as she and Ahuizotl approached, ‘but I was simply too tired of waiting for you to give up.’
“Daring struggled to rise from where she’d fallen, but the cats were already tying her up with rope, and the changelings were starting to cocoon her with their sticky green wax. Still, her unstoppable fighting spirit was determined to win, even if it meant nothing more now than having the last word. ‘You’ll never get away with this!’ she said, just before a changeling gagged her.
“ ‘Oh, I think I will, Miss Do,’ Ahuizotl said. Then he noticed Apoidea’s glare, cleared his throat and quickly said, ‘Ah, I mean we will, of course.’ He took Daring’s helmet from his tiger, and pulled out the Ruby Heart so she could see it one last time. The name was self-explanatory, because the relic was in fact a large, red, heart-shaped ruby which glowed faintly with inner magic. ‘I really should thank you for doing all of the hard work in finding it for me, Daring Do,’ he added, ‘but once again we see that there is nothing you can acquire which I cannot take away.’ He sneered down at her, relishing the moment, ‘and you won’t be stealing it back from me this time, I promise you that!’
“He laughed triumphantly, and signaled his creatures to push Daring off the cliff! But as they reached the edge --
“ ‘Wait!’ said Queen Apoidea suddenly, cutting off his evil merriment.
“ ‘What?!’ snapped Ahuizotl. ‘What do you mean ‘wait’?! I’ve been waiting for this moment for weeks!’
“ ‘She’s missing something...’ said Apoidea thoughtfully, looking over the bound, gagged, and cocooned adventurer and ignoring her partner-in-crime’s outburst. ‘If what you’ve told me about her escapes is true, then we need to make sure she can’t get away this time.’ Getting an idea, she carefully broke the cocoon, then resealed it around their captive's neck, leaving Daring’s head uncovered, but the rest of her body imprisoned in the wax. That done, she spotted a nearby boulder, dragged the hapless mare over to it, and used more rope and wax to attach the boulder to the rest of the cocoon.
“ ‘There,’ she said, stepping back to admire her handiwork, ‘perfect.’
“ ‘Hmm... Yes, very nicely done, my dear. I think this might actually do the trick,’ said Ahuizotl, grinning evilly. Then he once again signaled their minions to push Daring over the cliff!
“It felt like forever as Daring Do fell towards the swirling rapids with the two villains’ laughter ringing in her ears. But even then her mind was racing, searching for a way out. As she braced herself for impact and took the deepest breath she could, something caught her eye.
“A white-robed figure stood out against the rock face, watching her from the shadows of a lower cliff ledge. But she had no time to wonder about that, for she hit the icy water a second later! As she sank beneath the rushing current, Daring struggled with all her might to free herself! The boulder sank quickly, but the speed of the river was still enough to dash the mare hard against other rocks and the bottom of the riverbed. Try as she might to escape, the blows left her stunned, and the fight before, coupled with the cold water, had sapped her energy. If only she could reach the surface, the air, so she could breathe! But it might as well have been miles away.
“Eventually, though she didn’t know how long that was, the world began to fade at the edges, then to blacken. She was numb all over, and even the burning pain in her chest was starting to fade. She didn’t even realize that she’d finally lost the breath she’d been holding for so long. As her world sank into darkness, the last thing she saw was a white blur coming towards her. Was it a ghost? The lost soul of another drowned pony, come to lead her’s away? She didn’t know, and her mind was too numb and tired to care. Something new brushed against her, like the wings of some huge moth, then she felt nothing more.”